Talking of goalies and other things

So, the goalie derby comes down to two games. Each goalie has played one full game so far, and Johan Holmqvist and Marc Denis will split time Thursday in Detroit. It is unclear who will play the preseason finale Saturday at Dallas.

So here are their stats going into the final games

                               G  MIN  W L T  GAA  SPCT

Johan Holmqvist       1   57    0  1 0   2.11  .900

Marc Denis               1    65   1   0 0  2.77  .921

Karri Ramo               1    60   1  0  0  3.00  .870

I don't know if this was really a competition or a way to see if Ramo could throw a knockout punch. All things being equal, you have to go with Holmqvist and Denis who have much more NHL experience. And you want to be really sure if you move, say, Denis' $2.8-million contract to the minors and hope someone picks him up on re-entry waivers and picks up half his salary.

Still, the coaches are in a tough spot because they have just five games to make their decision. Not really enough time to get a good statistical model, so practice and scrimmage performance is going to have to be taken into consideration as well.

"I wish,'' goaltenders coach Jeff Reese said, "we had more games, but we don't.''

As for the game against the Red Wings, coach John Tortorella said Vinny Lecavalier, who has an undisclosed upper body injury but has been practicing, will not play until Saturday at Dallas. ... Center Chris Gratton said he is "frustrated'' with the sweet time it is taking the vision in his right eye to un-fuzz. He will be fitted with a contact lens to see if he can play against Detroit. ... Michel Ouellet will play. ... Wing Jason Ward (strained left ankle tendon) took part in Wednesday's power-play workout but not the full team practice. ... Dan Boyle is on the trip, and Tortorella said he hopes the defenseman who had surgery Sunday to repair three severed tendons in his left wrist, can skate on Thursday. ... Ryan Craig (herniated disc) is not on the trip.

Comments

[Tim A]

I'm glad that I'm not John Tortarella at this juncture. He has a lot of spinning of straw into gold to do before the season starts. I don't know who I would pick as my #1 Goalie at this point. My gut would tell me that Homer is the guy, yet Denis has alot to prove and could have a hell of a comeback season.

I know this, who ever it is, is going to have their work cut out because I still haven't seen a vast improvement on the defense. Now with Dan Boyle out for several weeks its going to be real tough going.

This is a tough call on the goal issues. I truly feel Holmer deserves the #1 beause he took the team to the playoffs when Denis was nothing but a disappointment. Do you put your trust back in Denis who showed time after time last season, he just doesnt have it! Do you give Ramo the chance to get the experience he needs in the NHL and hopefully shine. My personal opinion. We have Denis a shot, he failed! I would give Holmer the #1 and Ramo the backup job and put Denis on waivers. I would also get rid of John Reese, because its obvious he is not a very good coach for our goalies! Why is he still here??? I say get rid of John Reese and Denis!! Holmer deserves the #1!

[Mike13]

Bottom line is that none of our Goalies have stood head and shoulders above the other 2 guys to claim the spot.

Hopefully, somebody will stand on their head in one or both of the next two games. If no one does, and all else being equal, Holmqvist deserves to enter the season as our #1 with Denis as the backup. Ramo to Norfolk.

The good news is, with our Big 4 and some key depth guys being out of the line up against the Wings, whoever is in net should be getting peppered with shots. It'll be a good chance to see how well our defense is coming along as well as give a goalie a shot at looking remarkable. Or remarkably mediocre.

[slapshot]

i don't see how ramo cold be a better golie then holmqvist or denis.

[wiggy]

Think Ramo should be sent down. Let the rook get more seasoning. Both veterans need to step up big. We had a suspect defense before Boyle went down.